Here’s the Next Stop for Nokia’s Lumia

Nokia (NYSE:NOK) is not the only company taking a bet on its new, Windows 8-powered Lumia smartphone.

The Lumia phones are the cornerstone of a comeback for the phone manufacturer, which has struggled to compete with Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android this year. The Finland-based company has identified the United States as the key market for its turnaround.

But Nokia is not alone; Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is also counting on the Lumia devices to win back market share in smartphone software, and AT&T (NYSE:T), a longtime partner of Nokia, will be the first to sell the phone.

AT&T, the second-largest U.S. wireless carrier, announced Thursday that it plans to sell Nokia’s Lumia, the company’s first Windows Phone 8-powered smartphone. The Lumia 920 was announced last month without mention of a release date or which carriers would offer the phone. However, according to Bloomberg, the phone will unveiled at a showcase hosted by AT&T on Thursday in New York, but it will not yet available for public sale.

Verizon (NYSE:VZ), the largest U.S. carrier, plans to begin selling a Nokia Windows Phone 8 later this year.